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:Vol. 67, No. 9; Friday, March 6 1992=
Racist Threats Spur Bethel To Action
by Steve Urbanski
News Editor
According to Associate Professor of
Social Work Nicholas Cooper-Lewter, on
February 12 formerBethel student Bradley
Hall entered the professor's office, claiming that Cooper-Lewter had been "targeted"
by a northeast Minneapolis white supremacy group.
According to Cooper-Lewter, Hall had
made threats prior to the February 12 incident. Cooper-Lewter says that Hall made
an unannounced visit to his office in May
1991. "He stated at the time that he was
part of a group in northeast Minneapolis
lhat was organizing to get rid of undesirable people. He indicated those undesirables
were people of color—specifically black
people," says Cooper-Lewter.
When Hall allegedly returned to Cooper-
Lewter's office last month, Cooper-Lewter
says, "He reminded me of what he had said
previously. He went into the whole notion
of the holocaust not existing, and said he
wanted Beihel to return to the Christian
white right. When il reached a certain point
I told him I wanted him out of my office."
According to Cooper-Lewter, Hall did
not leave the office until Bethel Security
escorted him out. "While security was on
their way, "Cooper-Lewter says, "he paced
around [the office] saying things like he
was happy the security guards were coming, and that he wanted lo 'smear' Bethel.
He said he would get rid of me and smear
Belhel all al the same time."
Cooper-Lewter says that the community
responded to the incident more slowly than
he would have liked. He says, "It took
A special
edition made
possible by a
grant from
the
McKnight
Foundation,
as a part of
"the
Achieving
Cultural
Diversity
Program at
Bethel
College."
about a week for anything to be done with
the second event...When I did not receive
what I considered adequate response at
Bethel, I went to the black community for
help. Of course that generated press and
other things. One has to wonder what
would have happened if outsiders hadn't
been involved."
Several steps were taken in response to
the incident. These steps included increasing security on campus, and working
closely with local police departments, according to Executive Vice President/Provost Dave Brandt. A unity rally held last
Wednesday was also a direct response to
the incident.
"I got the impression that it was more
important to maintain an image of Bethel
than it was to protect the life of its members,"
says Cooper-Lewter. "And, when the image was threatened, the community rose up
and said, 'We Don't want to look bad.'"
Cooper-Lewterfeels that although events
like the unity chapel reflect support, they
should not be limited lo one day during
African-American Emphasis Week. Cooper-Lewter feels that the community needs
to address issues of racism continually.
Vice President of Multi-Cultural Affairs
Senior Pauline Shimada adds, "I wish it
wouldn't have to take a death threat for
people to respond. This should be a daily
fight."
Cooper-Lewter says Belhel must question the motives behind its present concern
wilh the issue of racism. He asks, "Why are
we making the decision [to address the
problem] now? Is it because the group
that's in power now wants to make it?"
-ct:
«**•«
&
m
^BlX^
Assistant Professor of Business Leo Gabriel and Associate Professor of
Social Work Nicholas Cooper-Lewter. Cooper-Lewter has allegedly
received racist death threats. Photo by GJ Harper.
"I have this fear that as soon as this
quiets down...the status quo may be reestablished," says Cooper-Lewter.
According to the professor, many of
Hall's ideas exist within lhe Belhel community as well. "In the two years, without
the threat to my life, but definitely a threat
to my career, I've had a number of people
in the name of academics espouse some of
the same ideas that the man who threatened
my life did."
Brandt says lhat the threat to Cooper-
Lewter has allowed the community to deal
with these racist ideas. "We are now asking what do we do with this? Where do we
go with il? How can we make this a place
where all peopis are safe?"
Brandt adds, "I think [the incident] will
surely keep the multicultural agenda front
and center...I think that it will keep the
topic before us much more openly. All
these events will surely fuel the fire."
Campus Racism Is Nothing New
by Josh Freed
Assistant Editor
"Die, nigger."
These were the words that Director of
Security Bill Watson says he found scrawled
on a message pad on his office door in
January of 1991. Throughout the next
month he was greeted by a skull-and-
crossbones insignia on this same pad.
Watson said the harassment finally ended
when a hidden video camera that he had
placed near his door caught the man in the
act.
Racism at Bethel is nothing new, as the
story of Leroy Gardner indicates. He said
that when he came to Bethel in 1942 to
enroll as a student, the Registrar greeted
him saying "We don't take applications for
janitors." Gardner explained his situation
and was taken to a Dean's office, where he
was presented with a form to sign which
read "you are prohibited from fraternizing
with the co-eds." The penally for violation
was expulsion, he said.
Later that year Gardner says he took
third place in the Mr. Saint Paul bodybuilding contest, so the Saint Paul Pioneer
Press and Dispatch printed his photo. When
he entered the library the following day, a
female admirer hugged him. Gardner said
lhat a professor who witnessed the i ncident
arranged for Gardner be assigned his own
reading cubicle "for his own benefit."
In the spring of 1981 the Clarion reported that Cheryl Meltzer, a Biblical and
Theological Studies Professor and Jewish
Christian, received anti-Semitic hate mail.
Professor of Psychology Steven McNccl,
who was working at Bethel at ihe time.
said, "One morning there appeared under
her [office] doora 'Christ-killer' note." He
said the note blamed Jews for the crucifixion
of Christ, and included threats against
Meltzer. A student manifesto deploring
the Meltzer incident was signed by hundreds, according to the Clarion story. The
person who sent the note was never found,
and Meltzer resigned at the end of that
school year.
Since that time there have been several
otherrun-ins with white supremacists. Gene
Blair, an African-American student at
Bethel, received hate mail that contained
"vulgar stereotypes of African-Americans"
duringhissenioryear, according toDirec tor
of Multicultural Development Terry Coffee. Together with several other African-
American students, Blair took overaChapel
service tostate that "they would not tolerate
this kind of racist behavior." They later
went lo the President's office to demand
that something be done. Coffee said the
action resulted in the first "Minority Emphasis Week."
Hale mail and harassing phone calls
have been a regular occurrence for people
of color at Bethel, according to Coffee.
Four years ago a female African-American
student received hate mail and had her
belongings removed by her roommates.
When a African-American student who
worked in Student Developmenl spoke in
chapel, he received several harassing phone
calls immediately afterward.
According to Coffee and Watson, other
incidents have included: An African-
American student who complained aboul
being singled out for a theft i n lhe bookstore
he didn't commit, African-American students who were carded at the beginning of
the year in the cafeteria when white students
were not, an Asain-American student who
received a toilet brush in his P.O., and a
African-American student who had dead
fish put in her P.O.
Assistant Professor of Biblical
and Theological Studies Cheryl
Meltzer, a Jewish Christian, was a
victim of racial harassment during
her first year teaching at Bethel.
The harassment ended with her
resignation.

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Reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted for educational and research purposes with proper attribution to the Bethel Digital Library. No commercial reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted under copyright law without the written permission of Bethel University Digital Library. For questions or further information on this collection, contact digital-library@bethel.edu.

:Vol. 67, No. 9; Friday, March 6 1992=
Racist Threats Spur Bethel To Action
by Steve Urbanski
News Editor
According to Associate Professor of
Social Work Nicholas Cooper-Lewter, on
February 12 formerBethel student Bradley
Hall entered the professor's office, claiming that Cooper-Lewter had been "targeted"
by a northeast Minneapolis white supremacy group.
According to Cooper-Lewter, Hall had
made threats prior to the February 12 incident. Cooper-Lewter says that Hall made
an unannounced visit to his office in May
1991. "He stated at the time that he was
part of a group in northeast Minneapolis
lhat was organizing to get rid of undesirable people. He indicated those undesirables
were people of color—specifically black
people," says Cooper-Lewter.
When Hall allegedly returned to Cooper-
Lewter's office last month, Cooper-Lewter
says, "He reminded me of what he had said
previously. He went into the whole notion
of the holocaust not existing, and said he
wanted Beihel to return to the Christian
white right. When il reached a certain point
I told him I wanted him out of my office."
According to Cooper-Lewter, Hall did
not leave the office until Bethel Security
escorted him out. "While security was on
their way, "Cooper-Lewter says, "he paced
around [the office] saying things like he
was happy the security guards were coming, and that he wanted lo 'smear' Bethel.
He said he would get rid of me and smear
Belhel all al the same time."
Cooper-Lewter says that the community
responded to the incident more slowly than
he would have liked. He says, "It took
A special
edition made
possible by a
grant from
the
McKnight
Foundation,
as a part of
"the
Achieving
Cultural
Diversity
Program at
Bethel
College."
about a week for anything to be done with
the second event...When I did not receive
what I considered adequate response at
Bethel, I went to the black community for
help. Of course that generated press and
other things. One has to wonder what
would have happened if outsiders hadn't
been involved."
Several steps were taken in response to
the incident. These steps included increasing security on campus, and working
closely with local police departments, according to Executive Vice President/Provost Dave Brandt. A unity rally held last
Wednesday was also a direct response to
the incident.
"I got the impression that it was more
important to maintain an image of Bethel
than it was to protect the life of its members,"
says Cooper-Lewter. "And, when the image was threatened, the community rose up
and said, 'We Don't want to look bad.'"
Cooper-Lewterfeels that although events
like the unity chapel reflect support, they
should not be limited lo one day during
African-American Emphasis Week. Cooper-Lewter feels that the community needs
to address issues of racism continually.
Vice President of Multi-Cultural Affairs
Senior Pauline Shimada adds, "I wish it
wouldn't have to take a death threat for
people to respond. This should be a daily
fight."
Cooper-Lewter says Belhel must question the motives behind its present concern
wilh the issue of racism. He asks, "Why are
we making the decision [to address the
problem] now? Is it because the group
that's in power now wants to make it?"
-ct:
«**•«
&
m
^BlX^
Assistant Professor of Business Leo Gabriel and Associate Professor of
Social Work Nicholas Cooper-Lewter. Cooper-Lewter has allegedly
received racist death threats. Photo by GJ Harper.
"I have this fear that as soon as this
quiets down...the status quo may be reestablished," says Cooper-Lewter.
According to the professor, many of
Hall's ideas exist within lhe Belhel community as well. "In the two years, without
the threat to my life, but definitely a threat
to my career, I've had a number of people
in the name of academics espouse some of
the same ideas that the man who threatened
my life did."
Brandt says lhat the threat to Cooper-
Lewter has allowed the community to deal
with these racist ideas. "We are now asking what do we do with this? Where do we
go with il? How can we make this a place
where all peopis are safe?"
Brandt adds, "I think [the incident] will
surely keep the multicultural agenda front
and center...I think that it will keep the
topic before us much more openly. All
these events will surely fuel the fire."
Campus Racism Is Nothing New
by Josh Freed
Assistant Editor
"Die, nigger."
These were the words that Director of
Security Bill Watson says he found scrawled
on a message pad on his office door in
January of 1991. Throughout the next
month he was greeted by a skull-and-
crossbones insignia on this same pad.
Watson said the harassment finally ended
when a hidden video camera that he had
placed near his door caught the man in the
act.
Racism at Bethel is nothing new, as the
story of Leroy Gardner indicates. He said
that when he came to Bethel in 1942 to
enroll as a student, the Registrar greeted
him saying "We don't take applications for
janitors." Gardner explained his situation
and was taken to a Dean's office, where he
was presented with a form to sign which
read "you are prohibited from fraternizing
with the co-eds." The penally for violation
was expulsion, he said.
Later that year Gardner says he took
third place in the Mr. Saint Paul bodybuilding contest, so the Saint Paul Pioneer
Press and Dispatch printed his photo. When
he entered the library the following day, a
female admirer hugged him. Gardner said
lhat a professor who witnessed the i ncident
arranged for Gardner be assigned his own
reading cubicle "for his own benefit."
In the spring of 1981 the Clarion reported that Cheryl Meltzer, a Biblical and
Theological Studies Professor and Jewish
Christian, received anti-Semitic hate mail.
Professor of Psychology Steven McNccl,
who was working at Bethel at ihe time.
said, "One morning there appeared under
her [office] doora 'Christ-killer' note." He
said the note blamed Jews for the crucifixion
of Christ, and included threats against
Meltzer. A student manifesto deploring
the Meltzer incident was signed by hundreds, according to the Clarion story. The
person who sent the note was never found,
and Meltzer resigned at the end of that
school year.
Since that time there have been several
otherrun-ins with white supremacists. Gene
Blair, an African-American student at
Bethel, received hate mail that contained
"vulgar stereotypes of African-Americans"
duringhissenioryear, according toDirec tor
of Multicultural Development Terry Coffee. Together with several other African-
American students, Blair took overaChapel
service tostate that "they would not tolerate
this kind of racist behavior." They later
went lo the President's office to demand
that something be done. Coffee said the
action resulted in the first "Minority Emphasis Week."
Hale mail and harassing phone calls
have been a regular occurrence for people
of color at Bethel, according to Coffee.
Four years ago a female African-American
student received hate mail and had her
belongings removed by her roommates.
When a African-American student who
worked in Student Developmenl spoke in
chapel, he received several harassing phone
calls immediately afterward.
According to Coffee and Watson, other
incidents have included: An African-
American student who complained aboul
being singled out for a theft i n lhe bookstore
he didn't commit, African-American students who were carded at the beginning of
the year in the cafeteria when white students
were not, an Asain-American student who
received a toilet brush in his P.O., and a
African-American student who had dead
fish put in her P.O.
Assistant Professor of Biblical
and Theological Studies Cheryl
Meltzer, a Jewish Christian, was a
victim of racial harassment during
her first year teaching at Bethel.
The harassment ended with her
resignation.